A STRANGE STORY.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XLIX, Issue 12634, 23 October 1905, Page 5

A STRANGE STORY.

The American correspondent. of the? r-• " Obago Daily Times" sondß the follow- «'::■ ing singular narrative to his paper ..:■?-.■. '■_.. The father remarkable story has come-:, to light in New York City of a studen^ in a large American university whorde-:,, liberately confessed, a -burglary whichVheft did not commit,' and accepted a three—".; year sentence in order ta> protect the--•. name of a married ■woman. The factsu ■■ were' made public (through the statement;. of a New York attorney, who said:—-" A.: r ■handsome widow- came . down.: to vmy- ,i[: office and asked to bo shown into t»he> library, where no rone but myself could. ~ see her. She tihen told me the following extraordinary story. I cannot. telE '.;..' you her name, but you certainly wouldE' know it if I did. She comes from one o£T* the best, old families of New York. Seriate 'husband owned several large factories in New Jersey. She is handsome,, does not look more than twenty-five,, though «!he probably is, and has a child - She told me, that a young man, whiile> not prominent in a business wr,y, bu<bwho had good social standing, had at; one time been calling upon her. ;Hteir~ husband was not aware of the £act--ttiafe . friendship existed between thenv Neitket■wanted the husband to-know it. T]hehusband came home unexpectedly, and? his appearance created considerable confusion, in the midst of which tfhe man? - rose to tihe situation. He assumed^ »i. rough'manner when, asked--by the hlas— band what he was doing there. He> said t«hat 'he ivas a burglar, that he>hadF forced an entrance to the" apa-rtnient,-and that jhe was willing to takgl hiss medicine- 'He gave an assumejKname... A ihiirried call for the police' fw&s sent over the telephone by the hust&nd, and? tine man made no attempt to escape. AIT ithis happened 'before, the wife" could sayor do anything. She was in such aquandary that she did not know what to do, so she Mindly followed the lead of" the supposed burglar. There was prompt--response by the "police, and the man was.marched (round to the police station. Hewas arraingod -the next day in the-Polrce-Court. He pleaded guilty to the.charge of attempted burglary. The husband was complainant and the womaar chief witness 'against Kirn- No time was? lost:in placing ithe matter before the* Grand Juryv which found an indictmentagainst himi'He was arrainged in tihe> <^urb;;of General. Sessions, where her again pleaded guilty. The secret of hSa^ identity was not disclosed in any of theproceedings, and his name is not knowißto tihe prison authorities to-day. Afc ■his own request judgement was pronounced by the court without the loss o£~ a minute. ■ He was sentenced to three® years in Sing Sing Prison. Without a--word 'he turned, went back to his cell inR rtlhe Tombs, packed up a few belongings,, and that aright wore a jstriped suit ibk Sing Sing Prison. His friends wondered what (had become of him, and? thought he had gone on a vacation trip* y/ithout saying anything to them about. it. Later they wondered that nothing; had been heard of him. The woman nowr wished (the young man to be saved froim. t9ie disgrace and punishment underwhich he is sufferiing, and came to ask: m© to try to get a pardon from Governor Higgins." The woman was mucnp •agitated. She is on the verge of a nervous breakdown, and it will be necessary to be cautious." Asked 'further as to>details, the lawyer replied that he couldt not give them. He $aid. it.was,a curious calncidenoe that a student disappeared from one of tUe colleges just ate the time this young man was tried ~ " The worst of the matter is," said the*lawyer, " ifchat the woman has been sub— jected to heavy blackmail, and she-jde*s^"-*1 clares she never has (had a night's deep* since. When I tell you rshe had to payno less than 86,000 dollars to some olcE servant of hers," who knew something:aboufc ike faots, you will understand? 'how serious the business is." It is stated? " that the woman will bring a suit against ' a band of blackmailers headed by a lawyer and a woman, who have succeeded in extorting money from her.